dontcha just love it

johnco · 02-19-2008, 02:52 PM

Heard the guy my mother hires to cut around rental property doing his job earlier today. later I noticed a hissing sound but couldn't figure where it was coming from and forgot about. couple hours later I notice the sound again thinking it's just my a/c, I ignore it. . somewhat later I learn where the sound was coming from when I turn on the faucet and get nothing. check around the back.. didn't need to go that far since the entire yard is flooded inches deep and to the road. wouldn't you think someone would have noticed the water shooting 10 ft high from a water pipe they had run over and broken clean off, and have had the consideration, take responsibility and walk 20-25 ft over, knock on my door and tell me I now had a leak. maybe he didn't notice water hitting the soffitt and falling around him. possibly he was really really fast at his job and somehow negotiated his huge lawn tractor out of the 8ft or so area between the buildings after cutting the 3/4 line and before the 30-40lbs of city water pressure could escape the now open pipe. I would have expected him to at least notice his shoes getting wet after finishing the yard and loading his mower. surely he must have heard the hissing while standing right there since I could hear it sitting 10-12 ft away inside thru a brickwallk over an a/c and a 32" tv 3ft away. . but noooo, I only find out hours later, after stores have closed and with all my tools on the job 60 miles away. if I were just a little bit less passive, I'd drive to his house and bounce him off a wall a few times to teach him how important taking responsibility and admiting your simple mistakes can be. nahhh parts to repair are less than a dollar, while bail is 60-80 cash, day or so missed work maybe 1000, and a fine of 3-400.. unless i got carried away and put him in the emergency room like the last 3 times I was forced to teach someone manners. I don't get that angry any more. maybe I could ask to use his shower since I HAVE NO ****ING WATER BECAUSE HE CUT MY ****ING PIPE AND DIDN'T BOTHER TO TELL ME.

snbush67 · snbush67's Garage

Maybe he was one of the guys who all-ready spent some time in the ER as a result of your proctological educational methods, and decided that a non-confrontational approach (IE Get the F out of Dodge) would be in his best interest.

911Rob · 911Rob's Garage

good rant John

David · David's Garage

Can we assume your mother will fire this guy and deduct the cost of repair from his payment?

Oh Haha · 02-20-2008, 02:23 AM

chicka boom, chicka boom, chicka boom, boom, boom

Aww, c'mon, you know that was funny.

Sorry about your troubles, John.

johnco · 02-20-2008, 03:16 AM

no big deal.. wasn't the first time, won't be the last.. I've had my gas meter run over several times also. nothing like squatting by the road, holding your palm over a piece of broken pipe, trying to keep natural gas from escaping at full pressure hoping no one tosses out a lit cigarrette, whille waiting, 30-40 minutes for gas company to arrive.. . then everyone you know pulls their running car next to you and asks what's you're doing. gas guys start to get pissy about it after a few times a year.

MRM · 02-20-2008, 04:32 AM

Don't have that problem in the great frozen north. Pipes are burried deep up here. It's 30 degrees warmer in the Yukon today than it is in Minneapolis.

frogger · 02-20-2008, 04:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MRM

It's 30 degrees warmer in the Yukon today than it is in Minneapolis.

johnco · 02-20-2008, 04:53 AM

the only ice I every see is floating in vodka and just about everytime I' ve seen snow it was lined up on a mirror or my desk. think I might have seen one a few minutes ago, but I won't confirm or deny.one day mid 30's. high 70's the next. or mid 30's in the morning. 70's midday, and near the 30's by dark. dosn't really matter though because it rained 8 inches last week. or two inches in a few hours, doesn't rain again until right before the ground dries enough I could finish the job. then it rains, drys and repeats.

Joeaksa · 02-20-2008, 05:10 AM

John, its time to have a "come to Jesus" talk with him...

johnco · 02-20-2008, 05:52 AM

first I have to fix the water to wash the funk off. looks like I slept in a ditch. he broke the pipe behind a 90 right there ground level. I spend 6-800 a month on pvc. I have boxes of what I need in my trailer right near my pipe cutter and cans of glue.. it's parked an hour away halfway to new orleans. yep, I'm smiling. laughing as I leave and drive 15 miles to buy a 65 cent part to drive back, kneel in the mud and water to fix my leak. then I can take a shower before I drive an hour to get to my job. should arrive a few minutes after it starts raining by eaving so late. oh well,what's a 2 hour drive and 50 bucks diesel if it saved that prick the embarrassment of having to tell me he BROKE MY ****ING WATER PIPE yesterday..before the stores closed where I have to buy parts. I so enjoy people. you can never tell how a person you haven't met can make a your normal day a lot more interesting and fun by doing the simplest thing. I have to make sure I thank him for making my day if I ever meet him.

MRM · 02-20-2008, 05:55 AM

Seriously, how can you have pipes so near the surface that they get broken so easily? The minimumm up here is something like 15 inches, which is mostly a frost line issue, but it keeps us safe from pipe breaks too. I don't know anyone who's had a landscaper cut a water line or gas line by running over it.

Rot 911 · 02-20-2008, 06:35 AM

You have a PVC main water line??? Isn't that just asking for trouble?

johnco · 02-20-2008, 10:30 AM

the 1/2 line feeding my house froze/broke/clogged up 35 or more years ago. my father replaced it with 1/2 soft pvc pipes sold in rolls. not really buried but everntually covered when the grass grew that summer it ran from the road, around the house to the bath and onto the kitchen behind the house. after a while a leak every couple years. 25 or more years later, the pipe with leaks that never quit was replaced with 3/4 pvc which I had to connect behind the bricks to about 1/2" of 50 year old rusted galvanized pipe using special south louisiana cajun engineering techniques. cheap and effcient, brilliant but simple solutions to problems unique to cajun culture... soooo,.. a few days later a trip to the hardware store for the correct parts, the leak was repaired. the new leak fixed at the house but now the meters leaking.

most homes use pvc lines. buried anywhere from a few inches to a few feet. I've hit quite a few. phone and cable eventually get buried about 1/2. when and if the installer comes back. trunk lines feeding the entire north side of the bayou have been found about 2 ft. 2 inch natural gas line not marked on the city charts can be found by excavating to about 2ft also. I've learned electrical lines feeding a subdivision are easiest to find and sever on sunday afternoon, on a holiday, while everyone's watching the football game. septic tanks are best located by front end loaders. you'll know t's there as you break thru the rusted cover and get to taste what's splashed in your face if it's done right I learn something exciting and new each day. tomorrow Ill learn if skipping work and reading BBS all day affects profit margin and customer realations

Porsche-O-Phile · Porsche-O-Phile's Garage

Can you PROVE he hit it? Did anyone actually see him do it?

If not, you don't have a legal leg to stand on.

(look, you and I both know it was him, but just sayin'). If you didn't see it happen and he denies it, what are you going to do?

johnco · 02-20-2008, 03:20 PM

don't really care, my mother asked him, he said he wasn't aware of hitting it although the tire tracks on the pipe and the simple fact that it wasn't broken before he cut the grass, and after cutting it was. the grass around it has been cut. doubt at a tvevangelist, lawyer, or con man have enough experience twisting the truth to convice anyone he didn't do it or think it was important to even try. who cares. 65 cents for the part, a few miles to get it, and 5 minutes to repair. I so seldom let things bother me for more than a few minuutes, had he come by to apologize or explain. I would, as usual ,said no problem, don't worry about it. I know what happens the rare times I let someone get me to the point I would strike out. I don't let that happen anymore. breaking a water line is hilarious compared to most everything else that happens to me. I'm so emotionally dead now it's like a vacation getting excited for a few minutes . reminds me I'm still alive. sorry to say but I don't really care one way or the other about many things for much longer than it takes me focus on something else. your post was meant to be funny after I read it again. you probably didn't require a reply. oh well, didn't feel like changing it

stomachmonkey · 02-20-2008, 03:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kurt V

You have a PVC main water line??? Isn't that just asking for trouble?

Isn't that against code?

Thought you could only have PVC outbound, not in.

johnco · 02-20-2008, 03:51 PM

hey this is small town louisiana. wasn't that long ago you had to get a permit. I remember cisterns, 55 gal drum catching water from the roof and pumping orange water from the well tasting like nails. pvc is state of the art plumbing here.